An Artificial Conversion of Roots into Organs with Shoot Stem Characteristics by Inducing Two Transcription Factors

Shigeru Hanano; Hajime Tomatsu; Ai Ohnishi; Koichi Kobayashi; Yuki Kondo; Shigeyuki Betsuyaku; Eiji Takita; Yoshiyuki Ogata; Keishi Ozawa; Kunihiro Suda; Tsutomu Hosouchi; Takahiro Nagase; Hideyuki Suzuki; Nozomu Sakurai; Hiroshi Masumoto; Hiroo Fukuda; Daisuke Shibata

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2020.101332

An Artificial Conversion of Roots into Organs with Shoot Stem Characteristics by Inducing Two Transcription Factors

iScience. 2020 Jul 24;23(7):101332. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101332. Epub 2020 Jul 14.

Authors

Shigeru Hanano¹, Hajime Tomatsu², Ai Ohnishi³, Koichi Kobayashi³, Yuki Kondo⁴, Shigeyuki Betsuyaku⁵, Eiji Takita², Yoshiyuki Ogata², Keishi Ozawa², Kunihiro Suda², Tsutomu Hosouchi², Takahiro Nagase⁶, Hideyuki Suzuki², Nozomu Sakurai², Hiroshi Masumoto², Hiroo Fukuda⁴, Daisuke Shibata⁷

Affiliations

¹ Kazusa DNA Research Institute, 2-6-7 Kazusa-Kamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan. Electronic address: hanano@kazusa.or.jp.
² Kazusa DNA Research Institute, 2-6-7 Kazusa-Kamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan.
³ Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan.
⁴ Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
⁵ Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), PRESTO, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.
⁶ Kazusa DNA Research Institute, 2-6-7 Kazusa-Kamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan; The Kisarazu Laboratory, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 2-6-7 Kazusa-Kamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan.
⁷ Kazusa DNA Research Institute, 2-6-7 Kazusa-Kamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan; The Kisarazu Laboratory, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 2-6-7 Kazusa-Kamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan. Electronic address: shibata@kazusa.or.jp.

Abstract

Somatic plant cells can regenerate shoots and/or roots or adventitious embryonic calluses, which may induce organ formation under certain conditions. Such regenerations occur via dedifferentiation of somatic cells, induction of organs, and their subsequent outgrowth. Despite recent advances in understanding of plant regeneration, many details of shoot induction remain unclear. Here, we artificially induced shoot stem-like green organs (SSOs) in Arabidopsis thaliana roots via simultaneous induction of two transcription factors (TFs), ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA HOMEOBOX PROTEIN 25 (ATHB25, At5g65410) and the B3 family transcription factor REPRODUCTIVE MERISTEM 7 (REM7, At3g18960). The SSOs exhibited negative gravitropism and differentiated vascular bundle phenotypes. The ATHB25/REM7 induced the expression of genes controlling shoot stem characteristics by ectopic expression in roots. Intriguingly, the restoration of root growth was seen in the consecutive and adjacent parts of the SSOs under gene induction conditions. Our findings thus provide insights into the development and regeneration of plant shoot stems.

Keywords: Plant Biology; Plant Development; Plant Genetics.